Why is Republic better than Monarchy?

[Rohili]

Firstly, it is unlikely that you will have 40+ cities all above size 6 if you are playing a peacful game. Secondly, workers also play a part in the upkeep costs. Thirdly, as I have said it is still possible to wage war in Democracy, thus that is what the extra units are for - for short, decisive wars.

I don't know about you all, but whenever I switch from Republic to Demo I always experience a tremendous increase in gpt and general productivity. That is why I have always felt Demo is better.

 

[tR1cKy]

The number of cities at the end is irrelevant. I used 40 cities as an example. Being them 10 or 100, the even point is always at 6 units per city. Tearing off 1 or max 2 workers per city, it's still unclear what a peaceful builder should do with the remaining 4-5 units per city. Such a proportion is big even for a warmonger. In my last game (domination - 900AD) i ended up with about 40 cities and 120 units in total. It means about 3 units per city, for a game totally devoted to war.

Judging from what you say, you're probably wasting a huge amount of money per turn for an army that stays unused, at the point that you realize big upkeep savings in switching to democracy. Of course you can play the way you want, but as long as the goal of the thread is to give useful advice to n00bs, your statement that "democracy is better" is to be taken with extreme caution.

 

[Tomoyo]

No I did not. By money bonus I was referring to

1) Halved upkeep costs (1 instead of 2 gold)
2) Less corruption
3) Faster workers resulting in faster land improvements (this affects commerce and productivity indirectly at the very least)

1) As tR1cKy mentioned, this is an argument for Republic.
2) What, about 2%?
3) Why would I want faster workers when all my territory is improved?

 

[tR1cKy]

I can imagine a situation in which the effects of democracy, as described by Rohili, actually take place, but it's very extreme.

It's when you have a big big money production that is almost all spent in building mantainance and military upkeep, leaving you with a net income near to zero. In this case, a 2% reduction in waste may appear significant. And the huge military upkeep explain also the apparent reduction in military expenses once the player switch to democracy.

BTW, this situation is far from being an optimal management of an empire. Once the player improves, the beneficial effects of switching to democracy are quite likely to vanish.